Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho does not expect to add to his squad as the Premier League transfer window closes on Thursday, despite warning a difficult season lies ahead for the English giants without further recruits.
For the first time the Premier League deadline has been moved forward to the day before the season kicks off when United host Leicester City on Friday.
Unlike in England, the window for the rest of Europe’s leading leagues doesn’t close until later in August, meaning Premier League clubs have faced even more inflated prices when buying from the continent.
Chelsea shattered the world record fee for a goalkeeper with an €80 million ($92 million) swoop for Athletic Bilbao’s Kepa Arrizabalaga on Wednesday to replace Belgian international Thibaut Courtois, who has joined European champions Real Madrid.
As part of that deal, Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic has also joined Chelsea on a season-long loan deal.
However, there has been little other late movement from the top six clubs with Mourinho in particular frustrated at missing out on a host of targets to bolster his options in central defense.
Harry Maguire, who could face United for Leicester on Friday, Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng and Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham were all linked with United, while Atletico Madrid’s Diego Godin emerged as a late target on Thursday. But Mourinho now says he is focusing on the players already at his disposal.
“The information I have is no,” said Mourinho when asked if he would be adding to his squad.
“I’m not confident, I’m not confident and the market closes today so it is time at least for me to stop thinking about the market because the market will be closed.”
Mourinho has been further irked by seeing rivals Liverpool steal a march on United to emerge as the second favorites for the title behind Manchester City thanks to a more than £170 million splurge on new signings.
However, Liverpool did their business early and are not expected to be busy on deadline day after recruiting Brazilian international Alisson Becker for a short-lived world record €72.5 million fee for a goalkeeper and midfielders Fabinho, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Despite slashing a club record £60 million on signing Riyad Mahrez, City have enjoyed a uieter window after spending over £200 million last summer on assembling a squad that smashed a host of Premier League records in romping toward the title.
Australian teenager Daniel Arzani joined the English champions from sister club Melbourne City on Thursday but is expected to be sent on loan to Celtic.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has been one of the more outspoken critics of the shortened window with time running out for Spurs to make a single signing this summer.
The move was designed to ease disruption in the first few weeks of the campaign after a number of high-profile players including Alexis Sanchez, Philippe Coutinho and Virgil van Dijk missed matches at the start of last season due to transfer speculation.
“If you compare with Europe, you are at a complete disadvantage and it does not help the clubs in the Premier League,” Pochettino said on Spurs’ tour of the United States.
“It’s not going to help the Premier League clubs because we’re going to compete in Europe and in the Champions League but have 20 days less.”
So far Tottenham’s interest in Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish has been rebuffed with the Championship club holding out for a reported fee in excess of £30 million.
Elsewhere, Everton are hopeful of tying up a deal for Barcelona center-back Yerry Mina, who scored three times for Colombia at the World Cup.
Wolves could also build on an impressive summer of dealing on their return to the top flight with a deal for Belgian international Leander Dendoncker from Anderlecht.
Moaning Jose Mourinho resigned to not signing anyone else before transfer window slam shut
Moaning Jose Mourinho resigned to not signing anyone else before transfer window slam shut
- United boss has warned that without new signings the season could be a tough one for the Old Trafford club.
- The Reds finished second last season, but a full 19 points behind rivals Manchester City.
Shakib Al-Hasan shines as MI Emirates down table-toppers Desert Vipers by 4 wickets
- All-round performance helped move the team back to second in the points table
DUBAI: MI Emirates registered a composed four-wicket victory over the table toppers Desert Vipers to seal their third straight win in the DP World ILT20 Season 4 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. After a disciplined bowling performance in the first innings, MI Emirates overcame early pressure before Kieron Pollard and Shakib Al-Hasan guided the team to victory.
The Desert Vipers managed to score 124 courtesy of Dan Lawrence’s gritty 35 off 34 balls, but MI Emirates navigated a tricky chase with relative ease. With the ball, spinner Al-Hasan’s two wickets for 14 runs led the charge and kept the Vipers in check, before Zahoor Khan’s death bowling ensured the total remained below par.
In reply, MI Emirates stumbled in the powerplay and lost momentum in the middle overs, but Pollard’s 26 off 15 balls flipped the contest decisively. Even after his dismissal, Al-Hasan held firm to see the chase through, striking the winning boundary to complete a controlled four-wicket win with 15 balls to spare.
MI Emirates endured a slow powerplay as the Vipers applied sustained pressure. David Payne set the tone early, removing Jonny Bairstow (5 off 5), while Lockie Ferguson struck to dismiss Muhammad Waseem (18 off 13). They finished the powerplay with 35/2 on the board.
The batting side lost momentum through the middle overs as the Vipers bowlers tightened the screws. Nicholas Pooran (17 off 17) mounted a brief counterattack with two sixes but was trapped LBW by Lawrence. Wickets fell at regular intervals, including Tom Banton (10 off 10) being bowled by a sharp Qais Ahmad delivery.
Then, skipper Pollard swung the momentum decisively, taking Ahmad apart with a pair of sixes in the 15th over that turned the chase in MI Emirates’ favor. He was eventually dismissed by Matiullah Khan, but Al-Hasan (17* off 25) held his nerve, anchoring the finish before striking the winning boundary off Matiullah to close the chase at 124/6 in 17.3 overs.
In the first innings, the Vipers made a subdued start in the powerplay, as Chris Woakes was excellent up front, conceding just 15 runs from his three overs. Allah Ghazanfar struck the key blow by removing Max Holden (20 off 18). Fakhar Zaman (13 off 13) tried to build momentum, but the lack of boundaries and regular dots ensured the Vipers were restricted to 35/1 after six overs.
MI Emirates tightened their grip through the middle overs as Al-Hasan struck twice in a miserly spell to remove Zaman and Sam Curran (4 off 4), conceding just eight runs in two overs. Arab Gul added to the pressure by dismissing Hasan Nawaz (13 off 19), leaving the Vipers reeling after losing three wickets in as many overs and the score at 54/4 at the halfway mark of their innings.
Lawrence and Jason Roy (14 off 18) showed intent in patches, adding a cautious stand of 42 runs in 40 balls, but boundaries were scarce. Al-Hasan capped an outstanding spell, leaving the Vipers with little impetus. Khan delivered a decisive final over, finishing with two for 17, as regular wickets in the death overs ensured the Vipers were kept in check, leaving MI Emirates a manageable target of 125 to seal the chase.
Al-Hasan said: “It was a surface that suited the spinners, and the focus was on hitting the right areas consistently. I was able to do that today, which was pleasing. I’m glad it helped the team. Batting wasn’t easy on this pitch either. With so many powerful hitters in our lineup, someone needed to play the anchoring role, and I was happy to take on that responsibility to make sure we finished the chase.”
Desert Vipers stand-in skipper Curran commented: “It was another low-scoring game on a tricky surface. The pitch was slow, and facing a side like MI Emirates, who have high-quality spinners with a lot of variation, made it even tougher. Despite that, I thought our bowlers put in a strong effort. With qualification already secured, we chose to rotate the squad, and what happened to Lockie reinforces the importance of managing workloads.”
